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Gout and Cherries
Source: Cherry Advantage 3
Courtesy of the Cherry Marketing Institute:
Gout is a type of arthritis (inflammation of the joints) that mostly
affects men age 40 and older. It is nearly always associated with an
abnormally high concentration of uric acid in the blood. Uric acid is
produced in the liver and enters the bloodstream. Under certain
circumstances, the body produces too much uric acid or excretes too
little. As uric acid concentrations increase, needlelike crystals of a
salt called monosodium urate (MSU) form. In time, MSU crystals
accumulate and cause inflammation and pain, symptoms typical of gout.
Cherries contain flavonoid compounds that may lower uric acid and reduce
inflammation, so cherry juice concentrate could be effective in reducing
the pain associated with gout.
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Cherries lowers Blood Urate Levels
Source: Cherry Advantage 5
WINTER 2004
Courtesy of the Cherry Marketing Institute:
New research adds to the in
vitro evidence that compounds in cherries may inhibit inflammatory pathways. Dr.
Robert A. Jacob with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Western Human Nutrition
Center at the University of California at Davis and a team of researchers
reported the findings from their study in the June 2003 issue of The Journal of
Nutrition. Ten healthy women, ages 20 to 40, consumed 45 fresh sweet cherries.
The results show that all the women had lower blood uric acid levels after
consuming the cherries; the average reduction in blood uric acid levels was 15
percent. Gout, a painful disease of the joints, is associated with high uric
acid levels. These high uric acid levels also can indicate future heart attacks
and strokes. Information about the study also was featured in the December 2003
issue of Prevention magazine.
Dr. Jacob believes that the anthocyanins in the cherries is what caused the
decrease in blood urate and that eating cherries may help lower heart attack and
stroke risk. Jacob says canned or dried tart cherries and tart cherry juice
contain the same anthocyanins as the fresh sweet cherries used in the study. One
serving of cherries a day should have some benefit, according to Dr. Jacob.
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